Alternative Christian worship of God, quotes

It is only after we realize 'nothing can be done'- that all our actions are futile, that we have beaten our heads relentlessly upon the wrong walls, that we are salmon who have fought their way up the wrong river, and have not the strength to return to the sea- only then shall we become the 'nothing' and 'nobody' enough to receive the benefits of perfect apathy; if, epistemologically, we have given up 'reason', so as to embrace the unreasonable, then we must also take the ontological leap of giving up ‘the reason’ we do things so as to purposely dwell in the perilous region of purposelessness.

“My route, Sior Francis- and don't be surprised when you hear it- my route when I set out to find God...was...laziness. Yes, laziness. If I wasn't lazy I would have gone the way of respectable, upstanding people. Like everyone else I would have studied a trade- cabinet maker, weaver, mason- and opened a shop; I would have worked all day long, and where then would I have found time to search for God? I might as well be looking for needle in a haystack: that's what I would have said to myself. All my mind and thoughts would have been occupied with how to earn my living, feed my children, how to keep the upper hand over my wife. With such worries, curse them, how could I have had the time, or inclination, or the pure heart needed to think about the Almighty? But by the grace of God I was born lazy. To work, get married, have children, and make problems for myself were all too much trouble. I simply sat in the sun during winter, and in the shade during summer, while at night I stretched out on my back on the roof of my house, I watched the moon and the stars. And when you watch the moon and the stars how can you expect your mind not to dwell on God. ...Piety requires laziness you know. It requires leisure- and don't listen to what others say.” Nikos Kazantzakis in his book Saint Francis, where, in a brief monologue, Brother Leo describes his path to the young Francis:  (Saint Francis, p34)

The ‘peace which passeth all understanding’, is beyond all concept and action.

“The one thing needful.”

Jesus, the Christ

"You may be sure that perfect quiet and idleness is the best you can do."

Meister Eckhart (sermon 4, p121)

"Be still, and know that I am God."

(psalm 46)

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These fragments and quotes are taken from the unpublished writings of Jack Haas, selected from the notebooks 1990-2005.